Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.

When Tim got back to the room, he picked Nicky up and settled down on the couch with him. He was trying to figure out how such a great day could go so wrong. He thought about everything that had happened and soon a familiar feeling slipped over him. Guilt.

He'd been the one who asked the nurse to go away when Al was sleeping. Maybe if she'd done whatever she was going to then, the problem would have been discovered and never would have gotten as bad as it did. And he was the one who called Billy, even if he hadn't intended for his brother to come, he should have known that would be the result of the call.

Tim knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with these thoughts. That he couldn't change what had happened. But he still wasn't able to shut them off entirely. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping for just a few minutes of peace.

He was starting to feel the length of the day and the lack of sleep, but he afraid he'd drop or hurt Nicky in his sleep. On the other hand, having his son with him was such a comfort, he didn't know if he wanted to give that up. It seemed inevitable, though, that sleep was going to win out, so he got up and went over to the little crib thing on wheels a nd brought it over next to the couch and gently put Nicky down in it.

Then he sank into the couch and exhaustion overtook him. Tim didn't know how long he had been sleeping when the doctor came into the room, clearing his throat and saying his name to wake him up. He was instantly alert, watching as the doctor came over and sat on the other side of the couch.

"Mr. Riggins, your wife is doing just fine. It took a while to get the bleeding stopped, but the embolization was successful and we did not have to do a hysterectomy."

Relief flooded over him. "When can I see her?"

"We're going to hold onto her upstairs for a bit longer so we can keep an eye on her. She lost a lot of blood and is still getting transfusions to replace it. I'd say maybe a couple hours or so. Maybe a bit longer."

"Thank you," Tim said, not sure that was really adequate to express how grateful and relieved he was. The doctor nodded briskly and left.

Tim rubbed his face and debated going to find Billy and spend some time with him. But he was still so tired, he knew he wouldn't be much good to anyone if he didn't get some more sleep. Besides, Billy would probably just send him away anyway.

Hours later, the warm sunlight coming through the window woke him up. He was confused at first about where he was, but then it all came back to him. He had a moment of panic when he realized he'd been asleep for too long and he couldn't remember the last time Nicky was fed. But when he picked up his son, it was clear the nurses had been taking care of him. His diaper had been changed and he was wearing a tiny white t-shirt and little striped socks.

"That's a nice look, little man. Shame your socks don't match your hat," Tim said to him. Nicky opened his eyes and focused on his face. Tim did know how much babies could see, really, but he seemed to feel like Nicky was making a connection with him, like he understood that they were going to have an important relationship. Tim grinned and shook his head. He was clearly still tired if he was having weird thoughts like that.

He looked at his cell phone and he had several texts from Lyla. The first said that they were doing some more tests on Billy. The second said that Mindy was still the same, critical. And the third, which was sent about 30 minutes ago, said they were taking Billy to the surgical floor to prepare him for his spleen removal. He dropped the phone on the couch and looked out the window at the parking lot. The sunlight glinting off the cars was nearly blinding.

"Timmy."

He jumped at the unmistakable sound of Al's voice. When he turned around, her bed had just been wheeled back into place and she was adjusting it so she could sit up.

Tim went over to her as fast as his legs would carry him and gave her a fierce, one-armed hug, burying his face in her neck so she couldn't see the tears in his eyes. When he let go of her, she shifted over a little and patted the edge of the bed. He happily sat down, wanting to be as close to her as possible.

"It's so good to see you both," she said, gently taking Nicky out of his arms.

Tim brushed Al's curls back from her face and then put his hand on her cheek. "Yeah, we're happy to see you, too. Al....I thought we lost you. I really did."

"Sorry about that. Must have been really scary for you."

Tim nodded and took a deep breath. He didn't know how to tell Al about the accident. He didn't even know if he should.

Tim looked down. "After they took you away, I called Billy.....He and Mindy....well...they had a car accident on their way here."

Al took his hand. "How bad?"

"Real bad. Mindy's not doing well and they're having to take Billy's spleen out. Me and him, we don't even know what a spleen is or if it's something he's going to miss."

"It does a couple of things but mostly it creates the white blood cells that are responsible for recycling and destroying used up red blood cells and also for fighting bacterial infections. You can live just fine without it, although it might make you more likely to get sick."

"So he's going to be okay?"

"I think he should be, if he doesn't have any more serious injuries than that."

Tim nodded, but said nothing. Al squeezed his hand and he flinched.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to squeeze so hard."

"Well," he said with a weak smile, "it's sorta still banged up from yesterday."

"Sorry about that," she brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed one of the bruises. When she let go, he put his hand on Nicky's back.

"It's okay. You had the harder job yesterday, for sure."

"Do you want to go home and get cleaned up, maybe have a nap in your own bed for a few hours?" asked Al. "I think they're going to want to keep me here one more night, maybe even two."

Tim shook his head. "I'm not leaving you. I'm fine."

"I did bring a change of clothes for you – you could go use the shower in my bathroom over there."

"Are you sure that's allowed?"

"It has a lock. What do you think? The nurse are going to bust in and arrest you for trespassing?"

Tim smiled as he stood up. He knew he'd feel better after a shower. Maybe, by that time, the doctors would have more good news for him.